ING Unsung Heroes Program Invites K-12 Educators to Apply for 2013 Class Project Awardshttps://unsungheroes.scholarshipamerica.org/The ING Unsung Heroes awards program, now administered through Voya FinancialTM, annually recognizes K-12 educators in the United States for innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and ability to positively influence the children they teach. Educators are invited to submit grant applications describing class projects they have initiated or would like to pursue. Each year, one hundred educators are selected to receive awards of $2,000 each to help fund innovative class projects. At least one award is granted in each of the fifty United States, provided one or more qualified applications are received from each state. Three of the 100 finalists will be selected for additional financial awards. All awards must be used to further the projects within the school or school system. All K-12 education professionals are eligible to apply. Applicants must be employed by an accredited K-12 public or private school located in the U.S. and be a full-time educator, teacher, principal, paraprofessional, or classified staff member working on a project with demonstrated effectiveness in improving student learning. Previous recipients of ING Unsung Heroes awards are not eligible to apply for another award. Deadline: April 30, 2015.

Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation: Grants for Youth with Disabilitieshttp://www.meaf.org/how_to_apply/The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation Grants program is dedicated to helping young Americans with disabilities maximize their potential and fully participate in society. The foundation supports organizations and projects within its mission that have broad scope and impact and demonstrate potential for replication at other sites. A major program emphasis is inclusion: enabling young people with disabilities to have full access to educational, vocational, and recreational opportunities, and to participate alongside their non-disabled peers. Maximum award: $90,000. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline for Concept Papers: June 1, 2015.

Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Accepting Applications for K-12 Public School Improvement Projectshttp://www.toolboxforeducation.com/index.htmlFunded by the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation, the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education program provides grant awards of up to $5,000 to support school improvement projects at K-12 public schools in the United States. For the 2014-15 school year, the foundation will give priority to basic necessities, with a preference for funding requests that have a permanent impact, such as facility enhancement (both indoor and outdoor) as well as landscaping/cleanup projects. Projects that encourage parent involvement and help build stronger community spirit are encouraged. Any public K-12 school or nonprofit parent group associated with a public K-12 school is eligible to apply. Parent groups that are applying (PTO, PTA, etc.) must have an independent EIN and official 501(c)(3) status from the IRS. Groups without 501(c)(3) status should apply through their school. Grant requests must be between $2,000 and $5,000 per school. Deadline for submitting applications for the fall 2014 grant cycle: October 15, 2014. However, if 1,500 applications are received before the deadline, then the application process will close.

Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy Announces Funding for Community Colleges to Improve Employment Outcomes for Youth with Disabilitieshttp://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=SCA-14-03The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is seeking applicants for two cooperative agreements with institutions of higher education to better meet the inclusive educational and career development needs of young people with disabilities through the Pathways to Careers: Community Colleges for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities Demonstration Project. Grant recipients will work across various youth-serving systems and use the “Guideposts for Success” developed by NCWD/Youth and ODEP as a framework in developing their projects. Each cooperative agreement will fund a pilot project that will build the capacity of community colleges to meet the educational and career development needs of youth with disabilities, including those with significant disabilities. The pilots will provide for researching, developing, testing and evaluating innovative models to deliver inclusive integrated education and career development services. Each cooperative agreement awardee may receive up to $1,041,650. All grants will be awarded by Sept. 30. Deadline for applications: August 11, 2014.

Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation Invites Applications for Music Donation Programhttp://www.mhopus.org/ApplyThrough its Keeping Music Alive program, the foundation will donate musical instruments to music programs that serve low-income communities and have little or no budget for musical instruments. Priority is given to programs serving the most students within a school population. Public, private, and charter schools are invited to apply; however, schools must be eligible for funds under Title 1 and/or serve a population where at least 50% of the students qualify for the National Lunch Program. Schools also must have an established instrumental music program (concert band, marching band, jazz band, and/or orchestra) that takes place during the regular school day and is at least three years old. Schools that offer Orff/classroom music only are not eligible to apply. Deadline for Pre-Qualification: August 1, 2014.

ING Unsung Heroes Program Invites K-12 Educators to Apply for 2013 Class Project Awardshttp://ing.us/about-ing/citizenship/childrens-education/ing-unsung-heroesThe ING Unsung Heroes awards program annually recognizes K-12 educators in the United States for innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and ability to positively influence the children they teach. Educators are invited to submit grant applications describing class projects they have initiated or would like to pursue. Each year, one hundred educators are selected to receive awards of $2,000 each to help fund innovative class projects. At least one award is granted in each of the fifty United States, provided one or more qualified applications are received from each state. Three of the one hundred finalists will be selected for additional financial awards. First place: $25,000; second place: $10,000; and third-place: $5,000. All awards must be used to further the projects within the school or school system. All K-12 education professionals are eligible to apply. Applicants must be employed by an accredited K-12 public or private school located in the U.S. and be a full-time educator, teacher, principal, paraprofessional, or classified staff member working on a project with demonstrated effectiveness in improving student learning. Previous recipients of ING Unsung Heroes awards are not eligible to apply for another award. Deadline: April 30, 2014.

Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation: Grants for Youth with Disabilitieshttp://www.meaf.org/how_to_apply/The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation Grants program is dedicated to helping young Americans with disabilities maximize their potential and fully participate in society. The foundation supports organizations and projects within its mission that have broad scope and impact and demonstrate potential for replication at other sites. A major program emphasis is inclusion: enabling young people with disabilities to have full access to educational, vocational, and recreational opportunities, and to participate alongside their non-disabled peers. Maximum award: $90,000. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline for Concept Papers: June 1, 2014.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Announces Fiscal Year 2014 Mentoring Funding Opportunitieshttp://www.ojjdp.gov/funding/FundingList.aspThe Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has announced its fiscal year 2014 mentoring funding opportunities: The National Mentoring Programs support the implementation, delivery, and enhancement of mentoring services to improve outcomes for at-risk, high-risk, or underserved youth. The 2014 programs include: High-Risk Youth Mentoring Research (Deadline for applications: May 12, 2014); and the Multi-State Mentoring Initiative, supporting qualified, established mentoring programs as they expand services for underserved at-risk and high-risk youth and enhance services to implement additional research- and evidence-based mentoring practices. (Deadline for applications: May 27, 2014).

Target Accepting Applications for 2013 K-12 Arts Education Programshttps://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/grants/arts-culture-design-in-schools-grantsArts, Culture & Design in Schools, a charitable initiative of national retailer Target, is accepting applications from schools and nonprofit organizations for programs that bring arts and cultural experiences directly to K-12 students. The company awards grants of $2,000 for programs that enhance the classroom curricula with in-school performances, artist-in-residency programs, workshops, and so on. Programs must take place between September 2014 and August 2015.
Grants are restricted to K-12 educational institutions and organizations with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Deadline for applications: April 30, 2013 (grant awards announced in September).

ING Unsung Heroes Program Invites K-12 Educators to Apply for 2013 Class Project Awardshttp://ing.us/about-ing/citizenship/childrens-education/ing-unsung-heroesThe ING Unsung Heroes awards program annually recognizes K-12 educators in the United States for innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and ability to positively influence the children they teach. Educators are invited to submit grant applications describing class projects they have initiated or would like to pursue. Each year, one hundred educators are selected to receive awards of $2,000 each to help fund innovative class projects. At least one award is granted in each of the fifty United States, provided one or more qualified applications are received from each state. Three of the 100 finalists will be selected for additional financial awards. All awards must be used to further the projects within the school or school system. All K-12 education professionals are eligible to apply. Applicants must be employed by an accredited K-12 public or private school located in the U.S. and be a full-time educator, teacher, principal, paraprofessional, or classified staff member working on a project with demonstrated effectiveness in improving student learning. Previous recipients of ING Unsung Heroes awards are not eligible to apply for another award. Deadline: April 30, 2014.